Preacher, Chris Ayers

Can anyone remember the name of a famous robbery that occurred in 1950?

On January 17, 1950, after training for two years and after six aborted attempts, the Brink robbers decided the situation was favorable. They donned clothing outwardly similar to a Brink's uniform along with Navy pea coats, chauffeur's caps and Halloween masks. While two robbers remained in the getaway car, seven other men entered the Brinks Building in Boston, Massachusetts at 6:55 PM.  They surprised, bound and gagged five Brinks employees who were storing and counting money. The robbers failed to open a box of the payroll of the General Electric Company but scooped up everything else, and walked out at 7:30 PM.  Afterwards the gang rapidly counted the loot, gave people their cut and agreed not to touch the loot for six years, after which the statute of limitations would have run out. The robbers then scattered to establish their alibis.

The robbery resulted in the theft of $1,218,211.19 in cash, and over $1.5-million in checks, money orders and other securities. At the time, it was the largest robbery in the history of the United States and was billed "the crime of the century".

Eight of the gang received maximum sentences for life.  Only $58,000 of the $2.7 million was recovered. The rest is fabled to be hidden in the hills just north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

It’s not been that long since Charlotte had its own famous robbery.  I guess you can’t be a world class city without a world class robbery.

This robbery is known as the Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery involving a $17.3 million cash robbery.  $17.3 million.  Imagine the sermon tips you could give with that or the Christmas gift you could buy your Pastor-------just to mention a few things you could do with the money.

David Ghantt, an armored car driver and vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, maintained contact with, or put another way, had interest in, Kelly Campbell, a former female employee of the company.  Kelly informed Ghantt that Steve Chambers, an old high school friend of hers, could assist them in robbing Loomis Fargo.  The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico--but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers who would occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; and when "the heat was off," Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators.  In truth, however, Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt. He intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. And Kelly Campbell made Ghantt think she loved him and wanted to flee to Mexico with him, but actually she wanted to make a better life for herself in the States.

So on October 4, 1997, unaware of the real plan, Ghantt  sent home early a newly hired employee he had been assigned to train and then proceeded to load a little more than $17.3 million in cash into the back of a company van. Outside of the building, Ghantt met up with others who were involved in the plot, and they drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. Ghantt took $25,000 with him and left for Mexico.

The robbers agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before backing off. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. He and his wife, Michele, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton.  They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a velvet Elvis. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash.

A Velvet Elvis would be a nice gift for your Pastor---just to mention an idea in case you haven’t already gotten my present.

Anyway, an FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as 16 others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 95% of the stolen money.

That’s 2 famous U.S. robberies, but during this season of Advent, I’m actually interested more in some other robberies, robberies you personally are well aware of.  Yeah, you.  Robberies.  You have information on some robberies.  Permit me to explain.

Jesus, according to John’s gospel, said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11)  The Psalmist instructs “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice or re-joy and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) And the Apostle Paul chimes in with this, “May the God of hope fill you with all-----What did he write?-----fill you with all joy.” (Rom. 15:12-13).  So tell me this, why have you allowed your joy to be robbed?

Admit it, you have allowed some people to rob you of your joy, haven’t you?---------------Perhaps a difficult relative, including outlaws---umm, in-laws, or an impossible boss or a husband or wife who has made or is making your life miserable, if not challenging.  Maybe the robber was your child or a person at church or a neighbor or someone who didn’t like you, a person who goes out of their way to mess up your birthday party.  Still yet, it could have been someone who expected you to live your life to meet their expectations of you instead of you living your life the way you wanted it to live it. 

Have you ever lost joy waiting on someone, trying to please someone who thought they were the center of the universe?
Has your joy ever been robbed?

I think we’ve established life cannot be joy all the time.  And no one is saying there shouldn’t be lost nights of sleep.  We lose our sleep and lose our joy because we care and we worry and we fret and we get all tangled up in knots.  Hey, we’re human.  But,----have you ever let a negative event or a negative relationship define your existence?  Do you let your joy be robbed on a consistent basis?

Last Sunday I told a story about a man who died in a hospital.  He had not spoken to his daughter in over a year.  The last words she told her father were “I hate you.”  Her father had not approved of her boyfriend.  And so, when he entered the hospital with heart problems he asked the nurse to call his daughter to ask her to come.  And he requested  a scrap of paper and a pen. 

Sadly, before his daughter arrived he died.  But---but when she went into the room to see him on the bed was a scrap of paper with these words: 

My dearest Janie,

I forgive you.  I pray you will also forgive me.  I know that you love me.  I love you too.

Daddy
How tragic.  The father didn’t approve of her daughter’s choice in men and so he let it rob him of the joy of relating to his daughter.-------------------The daughter----------the daughter let her father’s disapproval get in the way of finding any joy in their relationship.

If your joy is dependent on there being perfect harmony with others, if a requirement of your joy is that all is well with you and others and the world, then----then you are going to miss out on a whole bunch of joy because-----because life is messy.  Life is untidy.  Life is life.

I’m not saying there will not be situations in which joy just is not going to happen, but I am aware the human tendency is fight or flight.  Let me repeat that, fight or flight.  That is, in our relationships we can fight so much, we can fight fights that will never be won and there is no joy or----or we can engage in flight, we can cut off, distance ourselves and not work it out and lose out on some joy.  And then one day we will get a call that someone is in the hospital and then we’ll go to the hospital and-------------.

What do you do?   Fight endlessly?  Flight?  Do you distance yourself and withhold forgiveness?  Or do you do everything to work it out, to squeeze joy even out of heart-wrenching, as strained as it get dilemmas?

Sometimes-----sometimes if there is not acceptance of who we are and who we choose to marry or relate to or blessing of the path we decide to take----sometimes joy is not an option.  Sometimes joy will not happen, but during this season of Advent, a season in which we are focusing on the theme of joy, let us hear loud and clear God’s unmistakable, unequivocal desire that “our joy might be full.”  Let us re-commit ourselves to not be robbed---robbed of joy by anyone-----and----I need to add this----let us do our best not to rob others of their joy.

The angel said, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
And when the magi saw the star they were filled with exceeding joy.

 

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